Crude futures hit new records

Crude oil prices were up again on Monday, hitting new record prices before easing slightly.

West Texas Intermediate for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose for the third straight day to close at $60.54 after hitting an all-time high of $60.95 at one point during the day.

WTI contracts through October 2006 traded at over $60 per barrel. On the International Petroleum Exchange in London, Brent crude advanced 94 cents to $59.30 per barrel and reached a new high as it briefly rose to $59.59 per barrel during the day.

Unleaded gasoline for July also was up in New York, by 1.33 cents to $1.6690 per gallon, while July contracts for heating oil rose 2.06 cents to $1.6700 per gallon. In London, IPE gasoil July futures advanced $8.75 to $532.75 per tonne, less than $10 lower than its record high of $542 per tonne.

One reason for the continuing rise in prices was the election of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad as the new president of Iran. The second-largest oil producer in OPEC, Iran has been having trouble bringing its output to over its current level of 4 million barrels per day.

Many experts think that the only way that Iran’s output can be increased is the use more foreign technology and greater investment. Mr. Ahmadi-Nejad, however, has said that no more foreign participation in Iran’s oil industry will be allowed. This position only added to continuing worries about oil supplies.